Cancer PathCHART: The Future of Cancer Surveillance Data Quality (Archived)

Jun 1

What: The Cancer PathCHART initiative is a ground-breaking collaboration that aims to improve cancer surveillance data quality by updating standards for tumor site and histology combinations and associated terminology and coding. Also included in this initiative is CPC*Search, an interactive webtool with search capability for validity status of all histologies at a given tumor site, vice versa, and associated terminology.

Why: The foundational data items of site, histology, and behavior are the basis for all subsequent data abstraction for a tumor (e.g., stage, treatment, outcomes). Accurate data are essential for the evaluation, management, research, and surveillance of cancer patients.

How: This initiative involves a multilevel review process with pathologists and tumor registrars of standards for tumor site-histology combinations, terminology, and coding. Review results are incorporated into the Cancer PathCHART database and serve as the single source of truth for tumor site, histology, and behavior coding and terminology standards for cancer surveillance in North America. The 2024 Cancer PathCHART ICD-O-3 Site Morphology Validation List replaced the 2023 ICD-O-3 SEER Site/Histology Validation List, which served as the basis of the 2023 Primary Site, Morphology-Type, Beh ICDO3 (SEER IF25) edit, and the impossible site-morphology combinations in the 2023 Primary Site, Morphology- Imposs ICDO3 (SEER IF38) edit.

When: The Cancer PathCHART ICD-0-3 Site Morphology Validation List and the CPC*Search tool may be used with cases diagnosed January 1, 2024, and later. These products will be updated annually as needed. CPC*Search went live in April 2024.

Impact: This vital online resource will help cancer registrars, clinicians, pathologists, researchers, and developers use the same terms and coding standards, making cancer surveillance more accurately reflect medical practice without altering cancer registration workflows.

Key Collaborators

The following organizations in this collaborative initiative are making Cancer PathCHART the authority on tumor site-histology combinations and terminology for accurate coding.

National Cancer Institute— Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (NCI–SEER)
National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA)
North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Program of Cancer Registries (CDC–NPCR)
International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR)
Statistics Canada | Statisique Canada
World Health Organization— International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO–IARC)
College of American Pathologists (CAP)
American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)
American College of Surgeons— Commission on Cancer (ACS–CoC) • International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR)

Review Process: